Effect of fermented rice bran, bio-converted byproduct on performance of broiler chickens.

About 3 weeks feeding trial using 96 days old, male broiler chicks (Cobb) was conducted to evaluate the potential of fermented rice bran, residue from phytase production on performance of broiler chicken in comparison with untreated rice bran. There were eight birds per pen and four replicate pens per treatment. Feed and water were available ad libitum throughout the 21 days experiment. The experimental diets formulated were corn-soya bean meal based diet (control), corn-soya bean meal-untreated rice bran based diet and corn-soya bean meal-fermented rice bran based diet. The value of crude protein content and crude fat was significantly (p0.05) was shown by addition of 10% untreated rice bran and fermented rice bran in corn soya bean meal diet in comparison with corn soya bean meal based diet. The growth performance of chicken fed 10% fermented rice bran was not significantly different (p>0.05) from those fed 10% untreated rice bran. The addition of fermented rice bran, bio-converted byproduct in the diet produced better phosphorus content in tibia ash and P retention (p<0.05) in comparison with untreated rice bran. Inclusion of 10% untreated rice bran and fermented rice bran in corn soya bean meal based diet did not give adverse effect on any performances of broiler chicken except for total P retention and can reduce feed cost with the same production cost. The fermented rice bran, byproduct of phytase production can be applicable as chicken feed without giving detrimental effects

Feeding values of conventional diets and their effects on the performances of dairy cows in Central Myanmar

The conventional diets have been fed to dairy cows since many years ago in Myanmar, however there is a little scientific information regarding the use of those diets as feed. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the feeding values of conventional diets and their effects on the performances of dairy cows in Central Myanmar. Nine cross-bred Holstein Friesian cows (460±22kg) with the 12th week of lactation were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups with three replicates in a completely randomized design. The three treatments were Diet-ST (common diet from Sin Tel, Tatar U Township), Diet-MN (common diet from Myay Ngu, Tatar U Township) and Diet-AM (common diet from Amarapura Township). Cows were fed treatments for 60 days. The roughage to concentrate ratios ranged from 53:47 to 72:28 and the nutritive values were significantly different (p&lt;0.05) each other. The highest nutrient intakes were observed in dairy cows fed on Diet-MN, however the nutrient digestibility were not different (p&gt;0.05) except the CP and ether extract digestibility (CPD and EED). The nitrogen utilization was highest in dairy cows fed on Diet-ST and the lowest value was observed in the dairy cows fed on Diet-AM. Although the milk compositions were not different (p&gt;0.05), the average milk yield of dairy cows offered the Diet-MN was significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) than those of dairy cows fed on other diets. The highest total feed cost (p&lt;0.05) was found in Diet-AM and the lowest value (p&lt;0.05) was in Diet-MN. According to these findings, it was concluded that the highest feeding value was observed in Diet-MN and its effect on the performances of dairy cows was also greater than others. Moreover, it would be suggested that better bean residues and sesame residues could be used as fibre sources in the diets of dairy cows

In vitro fermentation of conventional diets commonly fed to dairy cows in Central Myanmar

This study consisted of two experiments conducted to evaluate the effective net gas, fermentation kinetics (experiment 1), methane gas concentration, partitioning factor (PF) for microbial protein synthesis and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) (experiment 2) of conventional diets commonly fed to dairy cows in Central Myanmar. The conventional diets from four areas [diet from Sin Tel area (Diet-ST), diet from Myay Ngu area (Diet-MN), diet from Ta Pel area (Diet-TP) and diet from Amarapura area (Diet-AM)] were used as experimental diets in this study. In most of conventional diets, rice straw, sorghum stover and natural grass were used as roughage source and cotton seed cake and broken rice were used as concentrate. However in some diets, sesame residue and butter bean residue were used as roughage source instead of sorghum stover and natural grass. The roughage to concentrate ratio and crude protein (CP) content of conventional diets ranged from 53:47 to 72:28 and 11.46 to 17.96%, respectively. In experiment 1, the effective net gas volume of Diet-TP was lower (p&lt;0.05) than Diet-ST and Diet-AM and generally, the fermentation kinetics (a, b, c and a+b) of Diet-TP were also lower than those of other diets. In the experiment 2, the lower value (p&lt;0.05) of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) was found in Diet-MN and Diet-TP while the higher values (p&lt;0.05) of metabolizable energy (ME) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) were observed Diet-AM and Diet-TP. Although methane gas concentration of Diet-TP was higher (p&lt;0.05) than those of other diets, the greater values of IVDMD and PF were observed in Diet-TP. According to these findings, it was perceived that all conventional diets have different nutritional qualities which are useful for production and health of dairy cows; however the Diet-TP possessed the highest nutritional qualities among the conventional diets

Effect of leucaena forage and silage substitution in concentrates on digestibility, nitrogen utilization and milk yield in dairy cows

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of feeding leucaena forage and silage substitution in concentrate on the performances of dairy cows. Nine cross-bred Holstein Friesian cows (410±12kg) in the 12th week of lactation were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups with three replicates/treatments in a completely randomized design. The three treatments were control diet without substitution of leucaena forage and silage (DLFS0), diet with substitution of leucaena forage 10% (DLF10) and diet with substitution of leucaena silage 10% (DLS10). Cows were fed treatments for 60 days. Although nutrient intakes were not significantly different (p&gt;0.05) each other, digestibility of DLFS0 was significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) than others. Conversely, nitrogen utilization and average milk yield of cows offered DLFS0 were significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) than those of cows fed on DLF10 and DLS10. The highest feed cost (p&lt;0.05) per kg of milk was found in DLFS0 and the lowest cost was observed in DLF10. Therefore, although the leucana forage and silage could be substitute up to 10% of concentrates without adverse effects on the performances of dairy cows, the substitution of leucaena forage gave the better performances than that of leucaena silage

Selection of Suitable Varieties of Grasses for Myanmar

The basal feed resources for ruminants available in most developing countries in the tropics are crop residues, pasture from infertile land, for example communal land, or agro-industrial by-products. These are low in protein and of low digestibility. A major problem facing livestock producers in tropical areas is proper nutrition for their animals during the dry season when pastures, cereal residues and maize stover are limiting in nutritional quality. The researchers in Myanmar have tried to improve the nutritive value of fibrous agricultural residues. Aung Aung et al. (2006) supplemented the sesame and chickpea husk to bulls fed on urea-treated rice straw. One way of improving the utilisation of such crop residues is by proper supplementation with leguminous forages (Poppi and McLennan 1995). In most regions of Myanmar, the green forage is available during the rainfall and become shortage during dry season. Therefore, feedstuff for ruminant animals mainly has to depend upon the availability of agricultural by-products. Almost more than half of the livestock population of Myanmar is inhabited in dry zone and thus, to overcome the scarcity of the feedstuff during summer, the irrigation system was introduced in these areas for the development of agriculture. A simple and effective way to increase livestock production is to grow improved pastures. Throughout Myanmar, extensive areas of idle land could grow excellent pasture. At present, most of the “pastures” consist of low rank, poor quality grasses and a limited range of edible shrubs. During prolonged dry periods, grazing animals subsist on dry mature roughage of poor quality (Myo Kywe and Tin Mg Aye, 2007). Grass species, which can rapidly grow after the rain also having drought tolerance, would be very useful in the production system. There is still little information on the use of forage in Myanmar. It is needed to select the grass species which have drought resistance in Myanmar and thus this experiment was conducted to evaluate a range of introduced tropical grasses in the central dry zone of Myanmar

Evaluation of Tropical Herbaceous Legumes for Drought Resistance in Myanmar

Animal nutrition systems in the tropical and subtropical countries utilize a wide range of feedstuffs, mainly the crops and agricultural by-products, grasses, legumes, trees and shrubs. During the dry season, the crude protein concentration in the native grasses can drop below 3% crude protein (Atta-Krah and Reynolds, 1989). Fodder tree is not sufficient and is of low quality in Myanmar (Myo and Aye, 2007). Shrubs represent an enormous potential source of protein for ruminants in the tropics (Devendra, 1992). Browses are rich in nitrogen and minerals which are low in other conventional feeds of tropical regions. Herbaceous legume species play an important role in feeding ruminants worldwide. Herbaceous forage legume have been identified as potential protein supplements for ruminants since they contain high crude protein, minerals and vitamins needed for the growth of ruminal microbes (Norton and Poppi,1995). Herbaceous legumes can be grown as a relay within cereal crops or as a rotation with cereals. Herbaceous legumes can access ‎atmospheric ‎N‎ (‘fixation’)‎ through‎ bacterial‎ activity‎ in‎ root ‎nodules.‎ The‎ ‘fixed’ ‎N‎ becomes‎ available ‎to‎ the‎ legume and subsequent cereal crops. Herbaceous legumes are best planted from seed (Nulik et al., 2013). The aim of using herbaceous legumes in cropping systems is to increase animal productivity, particularly live weight gain in animals being prepared for market. Herbaceous legumes may be fed directly to animals as fresh material in the late wet and early dry seasons, with browse or tree legumes retained for later dry season feeding, or stored as hay and fed in the late dry or early wet seasons when the availability and quality of local feed is lower (Nulik et al., 2013). Legume based pastures give high individual animal performance for growth, fattening, reproduction and wool growth. Cattle live weight gain has been related positively to the proportion of legume in the sward (Mureithi et al., 1995). As pastures become mature, they are characterized by high content of fibre with a higher grade of lignifications and low protein content (Enoh et al., 2005). In Myanmar there is only 0.35% cultivated pasture area to that of cultivated acreages. The improvement and development of pasture is a necessity for Myanmar (Myo and Aye, 2007). For that reason it is needed to evaluate the yield herbaceous legumes for the potential use for ruminants in Myanmar

Evaluation on dry forage yields and nutritional characteristics of introduced herbaceous legumes in Myanmar

The study was carried out to evaluate the forage yields, nutritive values and in vitro fermentation parameters of herbaceous legumes. Five varieties of introduced herbaceous legumes; Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Ubon stylo, Macrotyloma axillare cv. Archer, Centrosema brasilianum cv. Ooloo, Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Stylo 184 and Macroptilum bracteatum cv. Cadarga were evaluated at the research farm, University of Veterinary Science, Yezin, Myanmar. No fertilizer and no irrigation were applied for cultivation to test drought resistance. Dry forage yield, nutritive values and gas production at four harvesting times were measured with 4×5 factorial arrangement (5 legumes and 4 harvesting time) in randomized complete block design. There was no interaction between legumes and harvesting time on forage yield, nutritive values and fermentation parameters but they were affected by the main effects of legume types and harvesting time. Among the legume forages, the highest dry forage yields were found in Ooloo, Ubon stylo, and Stylo 184, and followed by the DM yield of Archer and Cadarga. The DM yield of the second harvest was significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) than those of the first, third and fourth harvest which were not significantly different from each other. As a chemical composition, the DM content of Archer was lower (p&lt;0.05) than those of other varieties. Among the legumes forages, the lower CP content was found in Cadarga. The higher NDF was observed in Ooloo. Ooloo, Ubon stylo and Cadarga showed higher ADF in comparison with the other two varieties. Among the harvesting time, the lowest DM content was found at the first harvest. The highest CP content was found at third harvest. The NDF content was not significantly different. The lowest ADF content was found in fourth harvest. According to the dry forage yield, Ubon stylo and Ooloo had the highest dry forage yield and in term of nutritive values, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher nutritive values. As the main effect of forages, Stylo 184 and Archer had higher gas production in comparison with the other varieties. As the main effect of harvesting time, the fourth harvest had the highest gas production in comparison with other harvesting time. It could be better for cultivation by application of fertilizer and irrigation to get more forage yield and quality. &nbsp

Comparisons on the nutritive values of local and introduced forages and feed mixture for ruminant feed in central dry zone of Myanmar

This study aimed to compare nutritive values of local (Sorghum) and introduced (Mombasa) forages and their feed mixtures for ruminant feed in central dry zone of Myanmar. Sorghum based feed mixtures (FeedMix-1, 2 and 3) were the commonly used feed mixtures for cattle in dry zone of Myanmar and other feed mixtures (FeedMix-4, 5 and 6) were based on Mombasa. The lower CP and higher fibre contents (P&lt;0.05) were observed in sorghum and its feed mixtures. The highest gas volumes (P&lt;0.05) were observed in the FeedMix-4 and 6, and then the lowest gas volume (P&lt;0.05) was observed in FeedMix-3. The gas production from quickly soluble fraction (a) of sorghum was significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) than that of Mombasa, inversely the gas production from insoluble fraction (b) of sorghum was significantly lower (P&lt;0.05) than that of Mombasa. Moreover, potential gas production (a+b), ME, OMD and SCFA of sorghum were also significantly lower (P&lt;0.05) than those of Mombasa. The value of “a” was lowest (P&lt;0.05) in FeedMix-1, whereas the highest value was found in FeedMix-6. The lowest values (P&lt;0.05) of “b”, “a+b”, ME, OMD and SCFA were observed in FeedMix-3 and the highest values (P&lt;0.05) of those parameters were found in FeedMix-4. Thus, the higher nutritive values observed in the introduced forage, Mombasa and its feed mixtures were indicating that Mombasa should be used instead of sorghum for the feed of cattle in dry zone of Myanmar.&nbsp

Evaluation of locally produced microbial phytases and their by-products as additives in broiler nutrition

Phosphorus (P) is a critical and expensive mineral in poultry nutrition. It is an essentially important mineral for the development of skeletal system and metabolism of broiler chickens. Two-thirds of P provided in typical broiler feed ingredients such as corn and soybean meal is bound to phytic acid. Phytic acid is of low availability to monogastric animals. such as poultry and pigs. due to the lack of phytate hydrolyzing enzyme, phytase. The addition of microbial phytase is an effective way to release a portion of phosphorus bound to the phytate in maize and soybean meal, thereby increasing improving P availability and reducing P excretion into the environment, Five experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential of locally produced microbial phytases as additive in broiler nutrition. In the first experiment. two locally produced microbial phytases (ASUIA279 and ASUIA271) were evaluated for their efficiency in improving growth performance. bone and serum mineralization. and phosphorus utilization of broiler chickens fed on corn and soybean meal based diet in a three-week study. The addition of 1000 units/kg feed of ASUIA279 phytase to the phosphorus deficient diet significantly increased (P< 0.05) body weight gain, tibia ash and phosphorus content, serum phosphorus concentration and phosphorus utilization at 21 days of age. The second experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of ASUIA279 phytase at graded levels (500, 1000 and 1500 units/kg diet) on performances of broiler chickens fed corn soybean meal based diet in a 42-day study. Except for feed conversion ratio (FCR) and serum minerals (calcium and phosphorus), the improvement (P<0.05) in weight gain and feed intake. bone ash and bone P, and phosphorus retention were observed in the birds when phosphorus deficient diet was supplemented with phytase (1000 and 1500 units/kg feed) But the improvements were significantly (P<O.05) lower than the results observed with the adequate P diet. Five hundred units/kg feed of phytase supplementation improved only growth performance of broiler chicken in comparison with negative control diet. The third experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of phytase at graded dietary levels of non phytate phosphorus on performance of broiler chickens. Without considering interaction effect, both phytase supplementation and, dietary levels of non phytate phosphorus gave significant (P<().05) effects on all parameters (growth performance, bone and serum mineralization. nutrient utilization) except serum calcium level. Dietary levels of 0.251% non phytate phosphorus gave the lower performance (P<0.05) than dietary level of 0.33% and 0.45% non phytate phosphorus. Interaction between phytase and dietary levels of non phytate phosphorus showed that supplementation of phytase gave significant improvement (P<0.05) in body weight at dietary levels of 0.25 and 0.33% non phytate phosphorus, feed conversion ratio at dietary levels of 0.33% nPP and bone P content and P retention at dietary levels 0.25 and 0.33 % nPP. But dietary levels of 0.33% non phytate P with phytase supplementation gave better response than dietary levels of 0.25 (Yt) nPP and these results were comparable with the results obtained by the dietary levels of reference diet (nPP 0.45%). Supplementation of phytase at dietary levels of 0.45% nPP did not give additional positive response in all measurements. Experiment 4 was conducted to study the effects of centrifuged phytase and uncentrifuged phytase in rice bran media of ASUIA279 at 1000 units/kg feed on broiler chickens fed corn-soybean diet. Both centrifuged and uncentrifuged phytase supplementation gave significant improvement (P<O.05) in growth performance of broiler chickens (body weight gain and FCR) in comparison with negative control diet. The effect by centrifuged phytase supplementation was significantly (P<0.05) better than that of normal phosphorus adequate diet. However. bone mineralization, nutrient retention and excretion (P, Ca. and crude protein) were only significantly improved (P<0.05) by supplementation of centrifuged phytase. In experiment 5, the effects of fermented rice bran, a bio-converted byproduct of phytase production on performance of broiler chickens were evaluated in comparison with untreated rice bran. The contents of crude protein and crude fat were increased in the fermented rice bran and phytate P content was reduced as compared to untreated rice bran. Inclusion of 1(Jolt) untreated rice bran or fermented rice bran in corn soybean meal based diet did gave the same effects on performances of broiler chicken except for total P retention and can reduce feed cost. The addition of 10% fermented rice bran in the corn soybean meal diet produced better bone mineralization and P retention in comparison with untreated rice bran. These studies indicated that the locally produced microbial phytase. ASUIA279 has the potential to be used in commercial poultry operations. The fermented rice bran. byproduct of phytase production can be utilized as chicken feed without giving detrimental effects